PREFACE:This blog was written some two months ago, and was only partly finished. Instead of picking up where I was while in the moment of writing it, I thought I would break it into two parts. This should explain the time lapse.

In the beginning...

...Is
what the title would be if I were to be starting there. Alas, I am not.
We are starting with the “Now.” If I am lucky, that is potentially the
middle. Unless my fears of dying at 32 (one of about 3 foretold ages)
become a reality. At this time, I am hoping my early days of conspiracy
theories and end-of-the-world obsessions are what fueled that magical
number. If not, I have roughly 3 months to live. If it is a combination
of both? Well then we all have roughly 3 months to live. Sounds fair.

Perhaps
this is a good place to delve into right from the get-go. Something
random and neurotic. The overbearing feeling that I am going to
mutha-fucken die. As mentioned, I felt the age of 32 would be one of
those possible time frames. The others, while I have written them down
somewhere, are a little more cloudy. 36 or 46 and 42 or 48 I believe
they were. Basically, my 40’s are shaping up to be a rough period. I
don’t feel the result would be in the form of an accident (though there
is one scene of that type I see now and again in my mind, which I take
as a possible writing piece), but more from health. I don’t feel I have
been up-keeping my health as I should, and it may catch up to me. This
is something I have been attempting to change in slow increments, over
the years.

In
fact, another blog or vlog I wish to create will be based around this.
If I have the courage to go through with it, that is. If I do happen to
commit to it I will be sure to share. I think it would keep me dedicated
and on track, knowing others may be keeping tabs.

For
the longest time I was all into the end-of-the-world business. I do
think that contributes to a large chunk of my belief of dying at the age
of 32. It may also be the reason why I haven’t ever fully gone "full
steam ahead" on any of my ideas or projects. This was, sadly,
confirmed by a friend who made comment about the topic.

With
my creativity, there are deeper resistances. If there is one thing I
know, it is that I am an underachiever. Maybe it was imagined, but I
also felt the pressure of, being the oldest child and first to graduate from school, moving on to college. Be successful. I felt it was an expectation
people held of me. Sure, I was decent in school, but where I grew up it
seemed our education came up a bit short compared to others in preparing
one for college. This is just my perception. Many (I’d like to believe)
went on to various colleges and were successful in their fields. I was
not one of them. I did a few months in computer programming until living
conditions, and lack of a vehicle, put the kibosh on that. Did it have
to? Nope, I could have sucked it up and used public transportation or
asked for help. I guess I felt my foray into computer programming was
complete.

That or I was unmotivated and lazy. More on that another time.

Eventually
I became jaded about college. It was too expensive, you will be in debt
for years, etc etc. While these are semi legitimate claims, there was
likely more to it. It is kind of sad to admit that any belief of a
possible “end-of-days” was in-part responsible, but I would be lying if
saying it wasn’t.

So
what was I planning on just in case the world wasn’t going to end? Not a
damn thing. I wasn’t necessarily counting on it happening, but more so
that I was just able to use it as an excuse to do nothing. Nothing at
all.

It’s been a long while, so I thought I would give a brief look into the reason(s) behind my absence. You’ll have to forgive my potentially awkward, stilted jibber-jabber. It may take some time for me to get warmed up…

Dreams in the Shade of Ink is back with more Flash Fiction for the A to Z Challenge 2017! Last year my segments throughout April painted a puzzled tapestry of prose and I hope to provide some new, entertaining stories that you'll enjoy!

recent META

The A to Z Challenge 2017 is over and it's time to reflect on how the event went! There were booster pack openings, there were storylines and mechanics to observe within the world of Magic: The Gathering!

Join me as I discuss the ups and downs of this year's Magic Mixer theme.

This year for the A to Z Challenge 2017 Meta MTG presents the Magic Mixer! What's that mean? Your guess is as good as mine... What I do know, however, is that this year's theme is obviously still all about Magic: The Gathering!

Join me as I attempt to highlight a different Magic set each day of the challenge in different ways, from pack openings to discussions about a set's storyline and/or mechanics!